Ofcom plans to make it easier for UK households to switch their telephone and broadband providers, and to keep them from being 'slammed'.

At the moment, the switching process for services run on the UK's copper
infrastructure is too complicated, with different rules applying to different situations, the telecoms regulator said on Thursday. In addition, consumers can run into problems such as losing their service, having the wrong phone number switched, as well as 'slamming', where their service is changed without their knowledge or consent.

To make the process smoother, Ofcom set out a choice of proposals for the industry and launched a
consultation (PDF) on these on Thursday.

"Ofcom's preferred option is a process where the new provider would manage the switching process, including the transfer of services from the old provider," the regulator said in a statement. "To guard against slamming, the switch would be checked and verified by an independent third party."

According to Ofcom, one in five consumers switching
broadband provider loses their connection for around a week. In the
last year, the regulator added, "130,000 households have faced
problems with the wrong telephone line being taken over during the
switching process or when moving house".

At least three different types of switching process have evolved in
the UK over the years, leading to the confusion Ofcom is trying to clear up.

With landline service, people who switch have the changeover handled by the new provider, in most cases. The same thing happens with some
bundles of landline and broadband services. With standalone broadband service, the burden is typically on the consumer. People have to contact their existing ISP for a
'MAC' transfer code, then give that code to the new provider.

For some landline-and-broadband bundles, there is no agreed
industry switching process. In this case, the consumer has to end
the existing contract —
sometimes incurring charges —
then sign up
with the new provider.

Benefit to consumers

Ofcom chief Ed
Richards said the new proposals will "improve consumers'
experience of switching and ensure that they continue to benefit from
competition".

"Smooth switching processes are essential to ensure that consumers
can change providers with confidence. Many people think that the
current systems are too difficult and unreliable, which is why we have
made it one of our priorities to tackle this problem," he said in a statement.

The details for Ofcom's preferred proposal, where the new provider takes control of the switch, have yet to be worked out, a spokeswoman for the regulator told ZDNet UK. One possibility
would involve providers taking on a new customer transfer via a third party for identity verification as part of the sign-up
process. A similar validation technique is used in the US and
Ireland.

While the ISP Association (ISPA) welcomed the news that Ofcom is tacking the switching problem, it expressed some reservations.

"We do have some concerns about potential costs of a [third-party validation] process,
and what could turn out to be a potentially cumbersome customer
experience,"
the ISP trade group said. "However it's probably too early to say more until we have
had the opportunity to study the consultation report in more detail."

Describing the current situation as "unacceptable", the Communications Consumer Panel welcomed the proposals. It also urged Ofcom to bring in a unified process
for other kinds of communication services, such as mobile, pay TV and
cable.

"We are particularly concerned that current switching processes
will not keep pace with the trend towards increased bundling of
services, including pay TV services," panel chair Bob
Warner said in a statement. "his will become
more of an issue as convergence continues and competition intensifies.
We will be monitoring this issue carefully."

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